'^  ,V  •-’v-v*  ^.'  •■  -^ -• 


Vi. 


};h .'  •/,  ■  ■■ 


r/'.  '-  '•  *:  .,-  .  i  y. 

r-i- 


1-  '  '  '  »j 


\»j' 


■■'It 


;'-'V(iv. 


■■r . 


MMn 


-?i-r- 


fr*  r  ■(.  ■  •  ;  ■  t; 

...... 


■  rf-'-.*  ^ 


.  'V.  ; 


;-:V- 


''''  t;-  '.■'  ^  > 


A  Monument  in  Commemoration  of  the 
Faithful  Colored  Mammies 
of  the  South 


SPEECH 

OF 

HON.  CHARLES  M.  STEDMAN 

OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 


H.  R.  13672 

IN  THE 

HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 


JANUARY  9,  1923 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1923 

27451  -  2.‘U20 


SPEECH 

OF 

HON.  CHARLES  M.  STEDHAN. 


Mr.  STEDMAN.  Mr.  Cliairmau  and  gentlenion  of  the  coin- 
niittee,  I  am  very  grateful  to  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee 
[Mr.  Byrns]  for  his  kindness  and  for  the  honor  l)estovved  upon 
me  by  the  privilege  of  diverting  for  a  brief  interval  the  at¬ 
tention  of  the  House  from  the  measure  now  being  considered 
to  one  Avhich  has  been  referred  to  the  Comndttee  on  the 
Library,  and  for  which  I  am  expecting  favorable  considera¬ 
tion.  I  call  it  to  your  attention  at  the  present  time  in  behalf 
of  those  who  earnestly  desire  its  passage  at  an  early  date  on 
account  of  its  merits.  I  have  reference  to  House  bill  13672. 

The  erection  of  monuments  is  a  custom  which  dates  back  to 
remote  ages.  It  is  not  transmitted  from  one  generation  to  an¬ 
other  but  is  the  offspring  of  exalted  sentiment  and  high  ideals. 
They  mark  the  resting  place  of  those  who  have  brought  re¬ 
nown  to  their  counti'y  upon  the  field  of  battle  or  have  contrib¬ 
uted  to  its  prosperity  and  happiness  in  times  of  peace.  But 
you  will  search  the  history  of  all  ages  in  vain  for  the  record 
of  any  people  who  have  erected  a  monument  to  another  race 
or  to  any  class  of  that  race  dwelling  among  them  to  perpetu¬ 
ate  the  memory  of  qualities  which  entitle  them  to  remembrance 
and  gratitude. 

The  bill  introduced  in  the  House  should  find  a  responsive 
echo  in  the  hearts  of  citizens  of  this  great  Republic.  They  are 
all  Americans,  whether  they  dwell  in  New  PIngland,  in  the  far 
South,  or  on  our  Western  plains. 

The  measure  provides  that  the  Chief  of  Engineers,  United 
States  Army,  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  directed  to 
select  a  suitable  site  and  to  grant  permission  to  the  Jefferson 
Davis  Chapter,  No.  1650,  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy, 
for  the  erection,  as  a  gift  to  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
on  public  grounds  of  the  United  States  in  the  city  of  Washing¬ 
ton,  D.  C.,  other  than  those  of  the  Capitol,  the  Library  of  Con¬ 
gress,  Potomac  Park,  and  the  White  House,  of  a  monument  in 
memory  of  the  faithful  colored  mammies  of  the  South  [ap¬ 
plause]  ; 

Provided,  That  the  site  chosen  and  the  design  of  the  memorial  shall 
be  approved  by  the  Joint  Library  Committee  of  Congress,  with  the 
advice  of  the  Commission  of  Fine  Arts  ;  that  the  monument  shall  be 
erected  under  the  supervision  of  the  Chief  of  Engineers  ;  and  that  the 
United  States  shall  be  put  to  no  expense  in  or  by  the  erection  of  the 
said  monument. 

Aside  from  its  merits,  its  approval  and  indorsement  by  the 
United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  demands  its  careful  and 
favorable  consideration.  It  was  introduced  at  the  request  of 
the  Jelferson  Davis  Chapter,  No.  1650,  United  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy, 
o 


27451—23429 


/A'5  7f 


3 


The  history  of  the  United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  is 
one  resplendent  with  great  deeds,  many  of  them  gilded  with 
romantic  luster  which  has  cast  its  radiance  throughout  the 
world.  This  organization  owes  its  origin  and  life  to  an  asso¬ 
ciation  of  Southern  women  beginning  in  the  days  of  the  War 
between  the  States  for  the  purpose  of  caring  for  the  wounded 
and,  after  the  war  was  over,  in  providing  cemeteries  for  the 
Confederate  dead,  many  of  whom  slept  upon  the  battle  fields 
where  they  fell.  When  it  was  not  possible  to  bring  them  home, 
they  buried  many  of  them  at  the  same  spot  and  erected  a  monu¬ 
ment  that  the  stranger  might  know  he  was  treading  on  hal¬ 
lowed  ground. 

After  the  formation  of  the  Confederate  Veterans’  Association 
many  of  these  associations  became  known  hs  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy  and  later  were  organized  as  the  United  Daugliters 
of  the  Confederac3^  I  have  thought  it  not  amiss  to  refer 
briefly  to  an  organization,  a  chapter  of  which  requests  the 
passage  of  the  bill. 

During  the  days  preceding  the  unfortunate  War  between 
the  States  was  the  era  of  Southern  civilization,  so  often  mis¬ 
represented  and  misunderstood.  Whilst  a  period  of  many  trials, 
it  was  an  era  of  glory.  It  gave  to  the  world  such  names  as 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe  as  models  for  the 
emulation  and  example  of  the  young  men  of  the  land.  Later 
on  the  names  of  Robert  E.  Lee — by  common  consent  one  of  the 
foremost  commanders  of  the  English-speaking  race — Stonewall 
Jackson,  whose  achievements  have  lighted  up  with  historic 
>  interest  the  beauties  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  others;  it 
sent  an  army  to  the  battle  field  which  suffered  the  greatest  per¬ 
centage  of  loss  known  in  modern  warfare  with  a  fortitude  which 
challenged  the  admiration  of  brave  men  in  every  land  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  sun ;  it  furnished  statesmen,  scholars,  and 
orators  whose  names  have  illumined  the  brightest  pages  of 
history. 

The  colored  mammies  of  the  South  lited  in  and  were  a  part 
of  this  civilization.  No  one,  except  the  youth  of  that  genera¬ 
tion.  can  realize  the  mutual  devotion  of  the  colored  mammies 
of  the  South  and  those  whom  they  served.  They  were  educated 
by  their  young  mistresses,  and  their  characters  molded  by 
them.  The  fidelity  of  these  colored  mammies  has  scarcely  a 
parallel  in  history.  The  safety  and  comfort  of  “  their  children,” 
as  they  called  the  boys  and  girls  whom  they  nursed,  gave  them 
contentment  and  happiness.  They  watched  them  with  tender¬ 
ness  and  care,  and  sang  them  to  sleep  with  their  plantation 
songs.  They  could  not  be  seduced  from  their  love  and  loyalty 
by  either  promise  of  reward  or  threats  of  violence.  Numerous 
instances  of  their  fidelity  are  recorded  in  the  traditions  of  the 
South. 

Many  a  boy  who  followed  the  banners  of  Robert  E.  Lee  and 
Stonewall  Jackson  dreamed  happily  as  he  rested  at  night  upon 
the  fields  of  northern  Virginia,  his  face  turned  toward  the 
stars,  as  the  voice  of  his  colored  mammy  came  to  him  again 
with  its  lullaby,  bringing  happy  visions  of  his  home.  When 
these  boys  enlisted  in  the  War  between  the  States  their  colored 
mammies  accompanied  them  to  the  trains  on  which  they  de¬ 
parted  and  there  gave  them  their  blessings,  and  upon  their 
27451 — 23429 


4 


return,  many  of  tliem  wounded  and  mangled,  these  faithful' 
colored  mammies  remained  with  them  to  the  end  and  assisted 
in  the  last  rites  of  their  burial.  Their  devotion  was  returned 
witli  genuine  affection  and  love.  No  one  in  the  homes  where 
they  dwelt  treated  them  with  disrespect,  nor  was  anyone  allowed 
to  do  so.  The  children  when  aggrieved  by  any  wrong  or  fancied 
wrong,  ran  to  them  for  redress.  They  had  the  confidence  of  alt, 
and  it  was  rarely  betrayed.  They  desired  no  change  in  their 
condition  of  life.  No  class  of  any  race  of  people  in  bondage 
could  be  found  anywhere  who  lived  more  free  from  care  and 
distress.  The  very  few  who  are  left  look  back  to  those  days 
as  the  happy  and  golden  hours  of  their  lives. 

The  request  contained  in  the  bill  should  be  granted  and  the 
monument  be  erected.  Upon  it  let  there  be  no  inscription  save 
these  words : 

Ill  commemoration  of  the  faithful  colored  mammies  of  the  South. 

By  the  Jefferson  Davis  Chapter,  No.  1650, 

United  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  traveler,  as  he  passes  by,  will  recall  that  epoch  of 
southern  civilization,  when  men  were  brave  and  women  gentle 
and  true,  whose  history  has  ever  been  and  ever  will  be  an 
inspiration  to  the  people  of  every  land  who  honor  fidelity  and 
loyalty,  whether  an  attribute  of  the  great  and  mighty  or  the 
low  and  humble.  [Applause.] 

27451—23429 


O 


Photomount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros.  Inc. 
Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
PAT.  JAH  21,  1908 


UN'YERSITY  of  n.c.  at  chapel  hill 


00037547495 


FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 


THE  NORTH  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


